BuaNews (Tshwane)
Francis Hweshe
29 June 2011
Cape Town — Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has warned offshore gambling operators that setting up businesses in the country would not force his department to introduce forms of gambling which were deemed illegal here.
He also warned South African online gamblers that the Reserve Bank was monitoring illegal transactions and they would not get their monies even if they won.
He emphasised that online gambling remained illegal in the country. The minister was addressing journalists on Wednesday on the outcomes of the Gambling Review Commission.
Baby Twaya, the National Grambling Board chief executive, said one could be fined up to R10 million if caught engaging in online gambling or face 10 years in jail.
The commission was set up three years ago by the department to look into the gambling landscape from 1996 to the present and assess its social and economic impact on people, among other things.
In its findings, the commission has said that since 1996, gambling had grown into a “small but maturing sector.”
It said that gross gambling revenues had doubled between 2001 and 2009 and now stood at R15.921 billion (R18.129 billion including Lotto).
In 2009 alone, the industry had generated R1.5 billion in tax revenues for provincial governments.
The gambling sector also accounted for 56 958 direct jobs, while the casino industry had created 51 317 jobs.
The commission has also revealed the gambling industry drew most of its clientele locally, rather than from tourists.
Among its suggestions, the commission said that winnings on the Unlimited Payout Machines should be raised from the current R500, as the rollout of the machines in poorer communities had not been successful.
Davies, who briefed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, said both the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces would look into the report and make recommendations.
He said at the moment, nothing would change in the gambling industry and they would stick to the 40 casino licenses across the country.
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